Some of Bhutan's Beautiful Foods

One day I am going to photograph the raw foods of Bhutan - not as an act of conservation - but for their physical appeal and enthralling variety. Hopefully I will live long enough to be able to cover most of them. For now, I begin with the following:

Urca Bangla

The beautiful ogre called the Urca Bangla, a chili pepper variety originally said to be from Trashiyangtse, Eastern Bhutan. Personally, for me, their contorted formation and delicately merging coloring are what draws my attention. Their charm is in their ugliness. This chili proves that one does not have to be beautiful to be enchanting.

Although known as Urca Bangla, I feel that it should be called Bangala - meaning chili

Golden Chanterelle or Sisi Shamu

My most favorite wild mushroom. I simply love this one. Strangely, I just realized that I crave for it only at the start of the season – early August. Thereafter, I do not seem to fancy it as much.

Golden Chanterelle or Sisi Shamu - my favorite wild mushroom

Lemon

A citrus fruit that I consume on a daily basis - dashed with honey. In fact, this sour juice starts my day. Just yesterday I discovered that there is a seedless variety of this fruit. Funny thing is that it took me a lifetime to make this discovery. My half-sister from home sent me a packet containing freshly harvested lemons – she called to say that it is from my late Dad's kitchen garden in Tingtibi. This means that I practically grew up with the lemon tree …. and all my life I remained clueless about it. Life is such!

Lemon the sour juice that starts off my day

Tricholoma Matsutake or Sangey Shamu

Originally called the Po Shamu due to its uncanny resemblance to the human male phallus, its discovery in Bhutan is credited to Aum Kuchum. It is said to be very popular among the Japanese. In fact, the reason I began to toy around with it is because a visiting donor friend from Japan wants to buy few Kgs. of it – both dried and fresh. I have not eaten it yet – but boy! it is atrociously expensive. I am told that Bhutan exports this variety of mushroom to Japan – tens of tons of them. An exporter tells me that the fresh mushroom needs to be delivered in the importing export market no later than 2-3 days of its harvest. That should take some doing!

Nothing Sangey about this one

I have been asked to arrange 50 packets of the dried Matsutake – at the going price of Nu.2,000.00 per 50 Gms. packet! Boy, I ask you, why shouldn’t I opt for Phaksha Paa instead?